Literary Richards

Dear Charlie, I've decided, without any hint of narcissism, to read a few books by writers called Richard, so feel free to give me some suggestions! I started with a book by the Australian, Richard Flanagan, inspired by his victory in the Booker Prize http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/14/richard-flanagan-wins-man-booker-prize-2014, Britain's most prestigious literary award. I read his earlier novel "Gould's Book of Fish", and it was well worth a read, even if it was definitely challenging (OK, difficult!). It's set in about 1820 in Tasmania, mainly in a penal colony, and the story is told by a very unreliable narrator of his life in the service of the colony's Commandant and his painting of various fish, among other things. The book is about the birth of a nation, imagination, art and many other themes, while also fitting into the topic of "post-colonialism"(!), and being quite funny. It's the sort of book that would probably also become much clearer on second reading. Maybe some day. The cover and artwork are definitely beautiful, but as I said, not an easy read, although I think his Booker winner is more straightforward. My next Richard is going to be one of my favourites, the American Richard Yates. He wrote the incredibly wonderful "Revolutionary Road", which was made into a film with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, but which I've never seen because I loved the book so much! I'll tell you all about "Cold Spring Harbour" when I've read it.
Mr Leah